Service

Service Opportunities through St. Margaret Parish

Current Initiatives

Blood Drive

On Thursday, July 5 from 2:30-7:30 PM, St. Margaret Parish will conduct its semi-annual Blood Drive in the St. Margaret School gymnasium. Volunteers are needed to recruit potential donors via phone calls, to work the refreshment tables for all donors, and to babysit children of donors present at the drive. If interested please contact christinabraun2002@yahoo.com with any questions.

Catholic Relief Services Spotlight

Each week our Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Ambassador provides our parish with a CRS Spotlight on a particular country and issue that needs attention and donations. The CRS Spotlight is featured weekly on our parish email blast and can be viewed on our website’s Faith and Justice page. Contact faith@saintmarg.org with any questions or comments.

Food Collection Weekends

Non-perishable foods and paper products are collected and delivered for the Archdiocesan Community Food Distribution Centers. These centers provide food for 120,000 people each year at forty food cupboards throughout Philadelphia. Food is accepted and packed after each mass on the second Sunday of each month. Assistance is always needed. To donate or to volunteer for pick-up and delivery, contact Henry Hockeimer at hockeimerH@ballardspahr.com or call 267.210.1993.

Habitat for Humanity ReStore Collection

On Saturday, June 2, 2018, from 10:30 AM-12:00 PM, St. Margaret Parish will hold a collection for the Habitat for Humanity ReStore of the Greater Philadelphia area. Volunteers are needed to collect items from cars and carry to the Habitat for Humanity truck as well as write donation receipts to persons who donate. Interested volunteers can contact jwentarch@aol.com.

HOPE [Helping Other People in Emergencies]

A group of parish volunteers of all ages who visit the homebound, provide transportation to hospitals and doctors, and shop. Volunteers are used on a rotating basis for one or two hours monthly. New members are always needed and interested volunteers can contact Robert Ritzco at rritzco@yahoo.com or call 610.649.3973.

Hospitality Sundays

Occurring one Sunday a month from September through May, Hospitality Sundays are opportunities for our parish community to gather after Mass in our parish hall for a light breakfast of coffee, donuts, bagels, and fruit. Volunteers are needed to purchase or donate food and drink, assist with set-up and clean-up, and welcome the community from the church and into the hall. To volunteer for a Hospitality Sunday or to donate food for the event, contact betsyharvey321@gmail.com.

Lower Merion Summer Cafe

With the help of Nutritional Development Services (NDS) of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, a small geographical area within Lower Merion was identified as containing greater than 50% of children who qualify for free or reduced meals. In order to help combat food insecurity within Lower Merion, a working team of members from the Lower Merion School District and over 15 congregations of various faiths in Lower Merion established a Lower Merion Summer Cafe for children under 18 years of age within Lower Merion during which they can receive a meal and join other children for sports, games, and other activities.

June 18-20, June 25-27, July 2-3 | 1-3 PM

Ardmore Presbyterian Church | 5 Montgomery Avenue, Ardmore, PA 19003

Volunteers can assist with food distribution and clean-up, program development and implementation (leading arts and crafts, games, and sports). Can sign up to volunteer by emailing lmsummercafe@gmail.com or faith@saintmarg.org

Consists of a group of volunteers who provide casseroles monthly for St. John’s Hospice. A coordinator provides the recipes and a container, which are also available in the vestibule of church. casseroles are due at the school parking lot on the second Wednesday of the month by 9:30 AM. St. John’s also accepts men’s toiletries, new sheets, and towels. Interested volunteers can contact Teresa Myers at office@saintmarg.org or call 610.664.3770 ext. 10

Annual Initiatives

Dickens’ Festival

Dickens Festival is an annual tradition in Downtown Narberth held each December, drawing thousands and becoming the fastest-growing holiday festival in the Philadelphia area. Dickens-themed event, the town of Narberth is transformed into 1840’s London, as Ebeneezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, and all the characters from A Christmas Carol roam the streets for an afternoon. This year, St. Margaret Parish and School participated in the festivities as a vendor and as a performer! Volunteers are needed in various capacities to help make this day an incredible experience. Interested volunteers can contact Robert Cermignano at faith@saintmarg.org. Thank you to all parishioners, musicians, visitors, and volunteers to help make this day an incredible experience!

MLK Day of Service

In conjunction with Villanova University’s MLK Day of Service, St. Margaret Parish seeks to embrace and share the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with the wider parish community by embarking on an annual Day of Service. During the past year, St. Margaret Parish coordinated a Donation Drive with Refugee Families who are in contact with Catholic Social Services in Philadelphia.

Villanova University Day of Service–Fall, annually

Held each fall in conjunction with Villanova University’s Day of Service, St. Margaret Parish coordinates to provide a day of clean-up and activity around St. Margaret Parish and St. Margaret School.